rant about financial aid

Paying for College
41

It is okay to rant. It is also okay to point out how fortunate you are. From what I read, NY has some great state schools. You have parents that can help. Many don’t. You will likely have options for getting a degree. Many don’t.

I was watching a documentary last night about food insecurity and homelessness for college students. There is a large percentage of college students that don’t know where there next meal is coming from. Scary. I suspect many are the poor that you feel are so blessed. They interviewed students who were attending Berkeley who while they had great FA, they still need to relay on the food banks to be able to eat one meal a day. I cannot imagine the stress that they dealing with. We had one kid here at a IVY that could not afford a blanket for his bed. A generous CC parent sent him one.

Look at your state options. You might be surprise that they are better than you think. Recognize that there will be MANY high achievers at these school because like you they don’t have 250K in spare change.

Also spend some time reading the posts here. I am shocked at how many student have parents with six figure plus salaries yet will not contribute one dime. Your parents are trying to allocate what sounds like 20K for each kid. While not a lot for private schools it is a lot of cash. I am also amaze at the effort of posters here to help students like yourself find a path to a degree. There are some truly great people here.

42

@thumper1 what’s TAP money?

43

TAP is a NYS tuition assistance program for approved schools in the state. There are specific income requirements and you need to fill out the FAFSA in order to receive it.

44

The TAP (Tuition Assistance Program) requires the FAFSA and a separate TAP application. TAP is managed by HESC (Higher Educ. Services Corp). If a student Googles “HESC TAP,” the website should come up. There’s also a link to it at the end of the FAFSA.

45

^ THIS is why you post on CC.

46

Did OP mention family income, or just "middle class?’’ Most people that self identify as middle class are not going to be eligible for TAP.

47

https://www.hesc.ny.gov/pay-for-college/financial-aid/types-of-financial-aid/nys-grants-scholarships-awards/nys-science-technology-engineering-and-mathematics-stem-incentive-program.html

^@twogirls mentioned this already, look into this. Are you in top 10% of your class?

48

@mommdc My school doesn’t rank but I probably am

49

@greenteen17, there has to be a way to qualify, ask your guidance counselor how this works if your school does not “officially rank”. How else do they determine the top 10% in every NYS high school graduating class?

If you can get free tuition at a SUNY, then the parent contribution of $5000 ($20,000 total divided by 4 years), student loan and work earnings should cover room and board.

50

@greenteen17, Ask your guidance counselor. Just because they don’t announce ranks doesn’t mean they can’t figure it out.

If you get the NYS STEM grant, read the terms carefully. If you change to non-STEM or don’t stay in NY for 5 years after graduation, that ~$20k will revert to loans.